Ok, so last year I purchased a 1996 Legacy BK Wagon, and the brakes are absolute shit! One piston, 2-piece front calipers with 10 inch rotors and rear drum brakes are just not cutting it. I want to upgrade and was looking at the brakers on a Second Gen Forester. With 2 piston front calipers and 11.5 inch rotors and one piston rear calipers with (I think) 10 inch rotors. I feel that this will much more adequate for heat dissipation and overal performance. I am just wondering if anyone here has done a conversion like this, or should I just try to find a set of WRX brakes, hubs and suspsension? The 4 piston brakes and (I think but am unsure) 12 inch rotors on the front and 2 piston rears with 11 inch rotors would be great but probably a bit out of my price range. So the Forester brakes are looking like a decent first upgrade until I get more money to play with. Any thoughts, experiences, or just insights would be greatly appreciated. I looked for a long time and didnt see anything baout this, so I hope not overposting a topic. Also, I know that I will need to get larger wheels because I have a Brighton running 14 inch steelies at the moment.

Thanks guys!

fwa2500

12-14-2010 08:26 PM

i went with WRX brakes all around, MASSIVE upgrade. the only thing i would do different is go for the H6 rear brake upgrade (just requires a different rear rotor and caliper bracket from the WRX bits), for those you will need 16" wheels (pick up a set of stock WRX wheels, they are fairly cheap and easy to find). if you want to go the 4-pot front, 2-pot rear you will need 17" wheels to clear them.

honestly, i think that the brakes are one of the best upgrades you can do, our stock set-up was borderline dangerous in my opinion. after sorting out the brakes, wheels and tyres, go for suspension (see my faq at the top of the page here in the second gen. section)

BK207

12-14-2010 09:39 PM

Thank you, now I just need to find the brakes to install them. Thanks for you help. I'm assuming an alignment is neccesary afterwards?

fwa2500

12-14-2010 11:12 PM

indeed it is

BK207

12-16-2010 09:58 PM

Sounds good. Your thread on suspension was very very helpful too btw.

broknindarkagain

12-16-2010 10:06 PM

I think the forester brakes are the same as the Legacy GT brakes.

My stock Legacy GT brake setup has dual pistons in the front and single piston in the rear.

Frogg

12-16-2010 11:41 PM

what about big brake kits? should 02/03 wrx bbks fit?

camroncamera

12-17-2010 09:52 AM

Will the factory Legacy spare tire in the cargo area fit over the larger WRX brakes in the event of a blowout?

Frogg

12-17-2010 10:42 AM

i would think so, mine came with a 16" spare....i think it would need to be 15" or 16"....

subikid90

12-17-2010 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camroncamera
(Post 3205577)

Will the factory Legacy spare tire in the cargo area fit over the larger WRX brakes in the event of a blowout?

find a wrx spare lol

BK207

12-18-2010 11:26 PM

Or carry a full size spare.... Thats what I would do, but then again the back end of my legacy was stripped when I bought it, so theres plenty of room. lol

I would love a big brake kit for it, but due to budget reasons I am planning to go to the ol' Subie parts bin and put on the WRX brakes, because they came with 4 picton front and 2 piston rear calipers. In my fantasy world where I have lots of money I would go with Stop Tech ST-60 front calipers with 335mm rotors, and ST-40 rear calipers with the 285 mm rotors. Slotted and vented two piece rotors of course. lol

But for now, if I can find a WRX parts car I plan to swap the suspension and brakes, and hopefully the EJ205 and a 6-speed transmission.

wrxharrison

04-29-2013 06:27 PM

i have set of 02 wrx front calipers and rotors lying around in the garage. just picked up a 95 legacy l awd wagon. plan on throwing those on this weekend.

Zues Marine

04-30-2013 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camroncamera
(Post 3205577)

Will the factory Legacy spare tire in the cargo area fit over the larger WRX brakes in the event of a blowout?

nothing under 16" will clear two pot brakes like the wrx/4thgen LGTs

mailman

04-30-2013 09:29 PM

Are there any problems running 16 or 17" wheels with the stock suspension?

I will be putting in outback struts but I'd also like to fit better brakes as I use them a lot and the stock brakes leave a lot to be desired.

I need to replace a wheel bearing but the complete hub is only $40 more after having the bearings pressed in.

I'm thinking I could swap a lot of the suspension and I could use some of the old parts in the 94 which is totally trashed suspension wise.

monkeyposeur

04-30-2013 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fwa2500
(Post 3202441)

If you want to go the 4-pot front, 2-pot rear you will need 17" wheels to clear them.

According to Flatirons tuning you can run the 4/2 pots if you install 5mm spacers. This is what I want to do since I have 16" WRX wheels. However for the price of WRX 4/2 pots you can get Brembos but then I would need to get 17" wheels which I am not opposed to but my tires are relatively new.